{"id":225979,"date":"2026-03-18T22:47:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/225979\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T22:47:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:47:20","slug":"fresno-state-to-remove-cesar-chavez-statue-following-sexual-assault-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/225979\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno State to Remove C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Statue Following Sexual Assault Allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fresno State plans to remove a statue of late civil rights activist C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez following sexual abuse allegations and a testimonial from United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn light of the seriousness of the current revelations, as a first step, we are covering the statue while we determine appropriate next steps for its removal,\u201d Sa\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez-Sandoval, president of Freno State, said in a statement to students.<\/p>\n

The New York Times led a multi-year investigation into Ch\u00e1vez, unveiling that he raped underage girls. Following the report, Huerta shared that Ch\u00e1vez had raped her twice in the 1960s, resulting in two pregnancies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him, and I didn\u2019t feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss, and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to. The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped,\u201d Huerta said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The university unveiled the statue in 1996, honoring the \u201cspirit of peaceful assembly and broader labor movement that has shaped this region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, the university has covered it in a black sheet while it works with the Peace Garden committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur values are grounded in dignity, respect, and care for one another,\u201d Jim\u00e9nez-Sandoval said. \u201cWhen we become aware of reports of such a serious nature, we must acknowledge their weight and hold space for those who have been harmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UFW led the charge to cancel C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez day celebrations, calling the allegations \u201cdisturbing\u201d and \u201cincompatible with our organization\u2019s values.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following their lead, Fresno Unified School District announced Tuesday that it will not participate in a celebration planned for Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Community Reacts to Fresno State Decision<\/p>\n

There has been a mixed reaction from community members on social media with some praising the university\u2019s decision, while others questioned the move.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sure, down with all abusers,\u201d said a Facebook user identified as Alicia Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

Others believed Fresno State\u2019s decision was made in haste.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an allegation and two days passed and they are already taking down his statues and changing the street names?\u201d Facebook commenter Mark Culy wrote. \u201cHe did soo much for people\u2019s rights \u2026 We don\u2019t have to be so quick to just forget him\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

And several pointed out that Ch\u00e1vez is unable to \u201cgive his side\u201d due to passing away in 1993 with many claiming race is playing a part in the quick condemnation of the labor icon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresno State plans to remove a statue of late civil rights activist C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez following sexual abuse allegations…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-225979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}